Dr. Franz Flögel

Deputy Director of Research Department Spatial Capital

// +49 (0)209.1707-203

Franz Flögel graduated as Magister Artium at Potsdam University in 2010. He studied human geography, economics and political science at Potsdam University, Humboldt University of Berlin and University of Nottingham and received a scholarship of the German National Academic Foundation. Since 2010, he has been working as a researcher at the IAT in the research department "Spatial Capital". In 2017, he completed his PhD at the professorship of Economic Geography (Professor Hans-Martin Zademach) of the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. His dissertation compares the corporate lending practices of regional and large German banks.

Research fields:

Finance and regional development
- Especially banking and regional development
- Public finance and regional development
Regional development and economic promotion
Geography of retailing and consumption

Academic rewards/distinctions:

2006-2010 recipient of a merit scholarship of the German National Academic Foundation

2013-2015 PhD scholarship of the German National Academic Foundation

2017 Prizewinner of the Eichstätter Universitätsgesellschaft e.V. for outstanding scientific dissertations

Memberships:

Study group geography of retailing (Arbeitskreis geographische Handelsforschung),
VGDH
Junges Forum der Akademie für Raumforschung und Landesplanung
Alumni of the German National Academic Foundation e.V.

Projects (selection)

Engaging entrepreneurial ecosystems for the youth / Ecosys4you
Project run-time: 01.06.2023 - 31.05.2026
Heimat-Ruhrgebiet / Heimat.Ruhrgebiet
Project run-time: 01.07.2019 - 31.03.2022
Measuring diversity - Geographical diversity and regional banks in Europe / GDivEU
Project run-time: 01.06.2021 - 30.11.2021

Show list with all projects

English Publications (Selection)

Year	Title / Citation	Document type	Links / Downloads
2020	2020: The COVID-19 pandemic and relationship banking in Germany: Will regional banks cushion an economic decline or is a banking crisis looming? Citation: Flögel, F. & Gärtner, S. (2020): The COVID-19 pandemic and relationship banking in Germany: Will regional banks cushion an economic decline or is a banking crisis looming? Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie. https://doi.org/10.1111/tesg.12440 Abstract	Document type: Journal article	Links / Downloads:
2019	2019: Will FinTech make regional banks superfluous for small firm finance? Observations from soft information-based lending in Germany Citation: Beckamp, M. & Flögel, F. (2019): Will FinTech make regional banks superfluous for small firm finance? Observations from soft information-based lending in Germany. Economic notes: review of banking, finance and monetary economics, 48 (3), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecno.12159 Abstract	Document type: Journal article	Links / Downloads:
2018	2018: Distance and modern banks’ lending to SMEs: ethnographic insights from a comparison of regional and large banks in Germany Citation: Flögel, F. (2018): Distance and modern banks’ lending to SMEs: ethnographic insights from a comparison of regional and large banks in Germany. Journal of economic geography , 18 (1), 35-57.	Document type: Journal article	Links / Downloads:

Year

Title / Citation

Document type

Links / Downloads

2020

2020:

The COVID-19 pandemic and relationship banking in Germany: Will regional banks cushion an economic decline or is a banking crisis looming?

Citation:

Flögel, F. & Gärtner, S. (2020): The COVID-19 pandemic and relationship banking in Germany: Will regional banks cushion an economic decline or is a banking crisis looming? Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie. https://doi.org/10.1111/tesg.12440

Abstract

Document type:

Journal article

Links / Downloads:

2019

2019:

Will FinTech make regional banks superfluous for small firm finance? Observations from soft information-based lending in Germany

Citation:

Beckamp, M. & Flögel, F. (2019): Will FinTech make regional banks superfluous for small firm finance? Observations from soft information-based lending in Germany. Economic notes: review of banking, finance and monetary economics, 48 (3), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecno.12159

Abstract

Document type:

Journal article

Links / Downloads:

2018

2018:

Distance and modern banks’ lending to SMEs: ethnographic insights from a comparison of regional and large banks in Germany

Citation:

Flögel, F. (2018): Distance and modern banks’ lending to SMEs: ethnographic insights from a comparison of regional and large banks in Germany. Journal of economic geography , 18 (1), 35-57.

Document type:

Journal article

Links / Downloads:

Show all Publications

Dr. Franz Flögel

Deputy Director of Research Department Spatial Capital

// +49 (0)209.1707-203

// floegel@iat.eu

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7874-3029

Jahrgang 1985. Magisterstudium der Humangeographie, Volkswirtschaftslehre und Politikwissenschaften an der Universität Potsdam, der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin und der University of Nottingham. Seit 2010 wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Institut Arbeit und Technik im Forschungsschwerpunkt Raumkapital. 2017 Abschluss der Promotion an der Professur für Wirtschaftsgeographie der Katholischen Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt zum Thema der Unternehmenskreditvergabe regionaler Banken und Großbanken im Vergleich.

Arbeits-/ Forschungsschwerpunkte:

Finanzgeographie, insbesondere Banken und Raum, sowie öffentliche regionale Finanzen
Wirtschaftsförderung / Regionalentwicklung,
Konsumption / Einzelhandel

Auszeichnungen:

2006-2010 Leistungsstipendium der Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
2013 - 2015 Promotionsstipendium der Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
2017 Promotionspreis der Eichstätter Universitätsgesellschaft e.V. für herausragende wissenschaftliche Abschlussarbeiten

Mitgliedschaften:

Arbeitskreis geographische Handelsforschung
Verband der Geographen an deutschen Hochschulen
Junges Forum der Akademie für Raumforschung und Landesplanung
Alumni der Studienstiftung e.V.

Projects (selection)

Show list with all projects

English Publications (Selection)

Year	Title / Citation	Document type	Links / Downloads
2023	2023: Injecting climate finance into SME lending in Germany: Opportunities for and limitations of regional savings and cooperative Banks Citation: Flögel, F. (2023): Injecting climate finance into SME lending in Germany: Opportunities for and limitations of regional savings and cooperative Banks. ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, 2023, 13. https://doi.org/10.1515/zfw-2022-0011 Abstract / Keywords Although small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute considerably to Germany’s carbon emissions, regional savings and cooperative banks − SMEs’ most important financiers − hardly consider this aspect in lending to these businesses. However, given Germany’s commitment to climate neutrality by 2045, suitable approaches for injecting climate finance into these SME lending processes are greatly required. Against this background, the paper at hand aims to introduce the specific case of regional banks into the debate on green finance and green banking and suggest future research in this context. In discussing the state of research on the peculiarities of regional savings and cooperative banks, we outline the resulting opportunities and limitations for climate impact assessments in SME lending. We argue that while the dual bottom-line orientation of regional banks in Germany precludes them from applying simple positive or negative screenings, their in-depth knowledge about local clients and circumstances enables them to be active and engaging partners for the green transformation of SMEs. Nonetheless, we explain why developing solutions to utilise this knowledge for climate finance by integrating climate impact assessments into routine lending processes remains a particularly challenging task. regional banks, savings banks, cooperative banks, SME lending, climate finance, green banking, climate impact assessment, ESG ratings	Document type: Journal article	Links / Downloads:
2019	2019: Will FinTech make regional banks superfluous for small firm finance? Observations from soft information-based lending in Germany Citation: Beckamp, M. & Flögel, F. (2019): Will FinTech make regional banks superfluous for small firm finance? Observations from soft information-based lending in Germany. Economic notes: review of banking, finance and monetary economics, 48 (3), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecno.12159 Abstract	Document type: Journal article	Links / Downloads:
2018	2018: Distance and modern banks’ lending to SMEs: ethnographic insights from a comparison of regional and large banks in Germany Citation: Flögel, F. (2018): Distance and modern banks’ lending to SMEs: ethnographic insights from a comparison of regional and large banks in Germany. Journal of economic geography , 18 (1), 35-57.	Document type: Journal article	Links / Downloads:

Year

Title / Citation

Document type

Links / Downloads

2023

2023:

Injecting climate finance into SME lending in Germany: Opportunities for and limitations of regional savings and cooperative Banks

Citation:

Flögel, F. (2023): Injecting climate finance into SME lending in Germany: Opportunities for and limitations of regional savings and cooperative Banks. ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, 2023, 13. https://doi.org/10.1515/zfw-2022-0011

Abstract / Keywords

Although small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute considerably to Germany’s carbon emissions, regional savings and cooperative banks − SMEs’ most important financiers − hardly consider this aspect in lending to these businesses. However, given Germany’s commitment to climate neutrality by 2045, suitable approaches for injecting climate finance into these SME lending processes are greatly required. Against this background, the paper at hand aims to introduce the specific case of regional banks into the debate on green finance and green banking and suggest future research in this context. In discussing the state of research on the peculiarities of regional savings and cooperative banks, we outline the resulting opportunities and limitations for climate impact assessments in SME lending. We argue that while the dual bottom-line orientation of regional banks in Germany precludes them from applying simple positive or negative screenings, their in-depth knowledge about local clients and circumstances enables them to be active and engaging partners for the green transformation of SMEs. Nonetheless, we explain why developing solutions to utilise this knowledge for climate finance by integrating climate impact assessments into routine lending processes remains a particularly challenging task.

regional banks, savings banks, cooperative banks, SME lending, climate finance, green banking, climate impact assessment, ESG ratings

Document type:

Journal article

Links / Downloads:

2019

2019:

Will FinTech make regional banks superfluous for small firm finance? Observations from soft information-based lending in Germany

Citation:

Abstract

Document type:

Journal article

Links / Downloads:

2018

2018:

Distance and modern banks’ lending to SMEs: ethnographic insights from a comparison of regional and large banks in Germany

Citation:

Flögel, F. (2018): Distance and modern banks’ lending to SMEs: ethnographic insights from a comparison of regional and large banks in Germany. Journal of economic geography , 18 (1), 35-57.

Document type:

Journal article

Links / Downloads:

Show all Publications